19 February 2023 , 17:37
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Tory austerity Chancellor George Osborne should be grilled at the upcoming Covid Inquiry about how brutal cuts left the UK “poorly prepared” for the pandemic, bereaved families say.
Campaigners have demanded that Mr Osborne, who unleashed a devastating assault on public services after the Conservatives took power in 2010, answers questions over whether this led to thousands of Covid deaths.
They also want current Chancellor Jeremy Hunt - who was Health Secretary in David Cameron ’s government - to be called as a witness.
Action group Covid-19 Bereaved Families for Justice say the upcoming probe,
headed by top judge Baroness Heather Hallett, is a “one off opportunity to learn lessons” and “key players” must be questioned.
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At a preliminary hearing last week, the Trade Union Congress (TUC) told Baroness Hallett that the effects of austerity must be considered.
The inquiry will hear evidence on how prepared the UK was for the crisis in the summer (Bloomberg via Getty Images)Public hearings for the first module, which will look at how prepared the country was, are set to begin in the summer.
Spokesperson *Barbara Herbert, told The Mirror: *“The early days of the pandemic were some of the darkest in modern UK history, with hospitals overwhelmed, Covid-19 running rampant in care homes and the UK having one of the highest death tolls in the world.
“The Covid Inquiry is a one off opportunity to learn lessons that could save countless lives in the future, so it’s critical that it gets to the truth of why we were so poorly prepared and the role that austerity had.
“This means calling up the key players as witnesses, like George Osborne and Jeremy Hunt as well as hearing from bereaved families directly and allowing our lawyers to question them.”
Nearly 50 politicians and civil servants have so far been told they must give evidence at the upcoming inquiry, with Boris Johnson and Matt Hancock expected to be among them.
Inquiry chief Baroness Heather Hallett has been urged to allow witnesses on the effects of austerity (PA)Pete Weatherby KC, representing the campaign group, said members had questions about the “obviously foreseeable” issues before the crisis.
He said his clients agreed with the TUC that austerity should be looked at.
Mr Weatherby told last week’s hearing that those who lost loved ones could give valuable insight into preparation - but have not been asked.
He said: “It’s our understanding that there were no measures to risk assess frontline healthcare workers which included an assessment of the likely disproportionate effect on people from particular ethnic backgrounds “Another might be the effect of a failure to have advanced planning for the necessity to isolate patients coming into care homes or to address the obviously foreseeable problems of Covid being brought from care home to care home by agency workers.”
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Mr Osborne has been contacted for comment.